I've been spending a lot of my summer reading books (when I should just devote it all to looking for a job, but I digress), and spending too much money at Barnes & Noble. I've been reading books like it's going out of style. I think I've easily read 2000 pages in the last month or so, not including stuff I read on the internet and in magazines.
While I don't read mystery fiction too often, I have a weakness for detective novels. I really enjoyed some of Earl Stanley Gardner's Perry Mason books. I love the b&w series, too, but that just shows you how quirky and odd I am.
Right now I'm hooked on Raymond Chandler's Phillip Marlowe books. The style and tone of his books are now cliche, but the originals don't seem to have suffered for that. At least the writing is fresh to me. I've read "The Long Goodbye" and "The Big Sleep", his last and first books, respectively. I enjoyed "The Long Goodbye" more than "The Big Sleep", and am working on "Farewell, My Lovely" right now.
I guess "The Maltese Falcon" will have to wait a few more weeks. I'd like to read Forester's Horatio Hornblower series, too, but 11 books is such a big commitment when I'm not sure I can get through them all. I did give up on the Dune series, but that was for more reasons than one. Herbert's Dune is one of my favorite books of all time, but I can't extend the love to the entire series.
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I actually liked the second Dune book more than the first, but that's as far as I got in the series. I can totally understand how you'd burn yourself out on those quickly. I'll have to give the Marlowe books a try. I liked the Humphrey Bogart movies based on them. :-)
Wading through old pulp detective books to find the good ones has always been to much of a chore. Thus I never did get ino them. I like the more modern prey series.
Gunner, that's why you research before you go out to read the old book noir! :D I'll have to look into the Modern Prey series.
Star Child, what if the local Hastings sucks and I can't rent "The Long Goodbye"? They don't even have "The Maltese Falcon". . .what kind of movie rental place doesn't carry "The Maltese Falcon"?
I agree with you about "Dune". It is a classic, it's children are not. I assume that you've read "The Maltese Falcon" by now. It was my favorite Hammett novel, though I never got to "The Thin Man". The movie was great, but I was very disappointed that it left out my favorite part: the story of the man who is nearly killed, abandons his family, and then starts an identical new family in a different state. Shoot! Now I want to go and reread that part. Hope I can find the box that it is hiding in...
I have read The Maltese Falcon by now.
Anonymous, that was a cool story! The movie adaptation was over-simplified, I'm afraid. So were the adaptations to Chandler's novels. Of course, there were a couple scenes that would never have made it past the censors.
Which makes me wonder why my dad's sister is always ranting on how past generations were more "moral". I don't agree with that.
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